The Big Game
by creecher2012
Summary: This is going to be "The Big Game" told from JJ's point of view. The first couple of chapters are heavily reliant on the episode, but I'm going to tell it from JJ's perspective mostly.
1. Chapter 1

JJ had been kicking ass in darts for the last hour. First, she had just been practicing by herself with Spencer watching, but then two guys offered to buy her a drink if she'd play with them. She had obliged and Spence had gone off to play a geeky drinking game with some old friends. Jennifer hadn't realized how long it had been since she'd last played darts…she missed the bull's-eye twice! Even with those two fatal throws, she had still dominated both of the guys' scores combined and was feeling pretty good about herself.

Jay picked up a dart and positioned herself in front of the dart board. Despite the two drinks she'd had (and despite the two guys' attempts to get her to drink more), she hit the center straight-on. "OOHHHHH! Another one bites the dust!" JJ yelled as she threw her hands up in the air.

"How'd you get so good at this?" One of the guys asked, laughing.

"Where I grew up, darts was like a national sport," JJ answered.

"Seriously?"

"Yeah, we were too small for a bowling alley," she said, shrugging her shoulders.

"Ahhh…"

"I'm up!" The other guy exclaimed, holding up some darts.

JJ heard her cellphone ring and turned around to answer it. She saw the caller ID was from the FBI headquarters and sighed. "Sorry boys, you're going to have to find someone else to humiliate you," she said as she wrapped both of them in a hug. Both of them laughed, and then started scouting out new prospects. She walked out of the bar and when she passed Spencer, she roughed up his hair. He was enjoying himself with that game. She knew that he had probably answered any questions that his friends threw at him, forcing them to drink glass after glass. Standing outside the door, she answered her phone. "I'm so sorry, can you say that again?"

The voice on the phone sounded irritated. "Ms. Jareau, a new case just came in from Atlanta, Georgia that we need you to look at immediately."

"Ok? Um…have the police fax over everything they have so far." She started.

"The team should be notified right away."

Jennifer sighed, "I'll take care of the notifications. Almost everyone's here with me. Thank you." She hung up and turned to go back into the bar. Emily and Garcia were at a table near the dance floor watching Morgan, while Hotch and Haley were dancing together. JJ came up to their table and put her arms around the blonde and the brunette. "Sorry guys, case just came in."

Garcia tore her eyes away from Derek and moaned, "No! He was just getting into it!"

Emily chuckled and downed the rest of her drink. "Let's go grab him before he DOES get into 'it', whatever 'it' is." Prentiss got up and went to go take Derek off the dance floor.

JJ caught Hotch's eye and motioned to her phone. He nodded and started making his way over to the table with Haley in tow. Walking back to get her coat, she patted Spencer on the shoulder. "Sorry Spence, a case just came in."

Spencer looked up and smiled, "That's ok. I was beating them anyway. They thought that Sargon was actually an alien race! Can you believe that JJ?"

She cracked a smile in return, "Wow, how could they get it that wrong?" Spencer moved to get up and she walked out with him on their way to the BAU. Gideon was at the Smithsonian, so she would have to call him on the drive there.

* * *

Back at the BAU, Jennifer had some last minute paperwork to do before she briefed the team. Signing some papers and shoving them in manila folders, she grabbed her go-bag from under her desk and briskly walked to the briefing room. She just managed to hear Gideon say that he had a good time at the Smithsonian before she entered the room. "Well that's definitely over." Putting down her things on the table and grabbing the remote to the TV she said, "Georgia. The Kyles, Dennis and Lacey were murdered an hour ago in their suburban Atlanta home."

"An hour ago?" Hotch asked.

"The police were on-scene unusually fast."

"Why?" Derek asked as he stirred his coffee.

JJ looked back at the TV. This case was unusual…"One of the unsubs called them and told them that the other was about to murder the victims."

"You're kidding?"

JJ shrugged her shoulders, "From inside the house. According to the dispatcher, the first male sounded terrified and begged them to get there because the other, who they both identified as Raphael, was about to kill the sinners that lived there."

"Sinners?" Hotch said.

She nodded, "The 911 dispatch is going to send Garcia a copy of the tape."

"How fast was the police response time?" Spencer asked as he leafed through the papers on the table.

She dropped another whammy on the team. "Four minutes, twenty-six seconds." Derek raised his eyebrows. "During which time, Raphael managed to do this." Clicking buttons on the remote, she pulled up photos from the crime scene. Garcia cringed and looked away as the others analyzed them.

Emily set her coffee down, "Four and a half minutes?"

JJ nodded, "Mr. Kyle is a millionaire. His company is one of the largest employers in the community. There's gonna be media coverage." She had already spoken with a news caster in Atlanta that knew most of the details already. Turning back to the TV, she clicked another button, "Also when they arrived, the police found this displayed prominently on the bed." A worn piece of paper highlighted in yellow popped up on the screen.

"Revelation. Chapter 6. Verse 8." Hotch said.

Derek took the coffee stirrer he had been chewing on out of his mouth. "They're killing sinners. These guys are on a mission."

Reid looked down at his lap, "Mission based killers will not stop killing."

Hotch read off the paper, "And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death…"

"And Hell followed with him." Gideon finished.

There was silence in the room. Emily was staring into her coffee and Hotch was compiling the papers into one folder on the table. "Wheels up in 30."

JJ hurried back to her office to grab a few extra things. Some paper, some extra tea bags because the tea on the jet was awful, and her coat. She looked around and saw the stacks upon stacks of files eating up space on the table behind her desk. No matter how hard she worked, no matter how late she stayed, that pile never seemed to get any smaller. It was hard trying to keep up with the psychos in this world. Gathering her things she locked the door and headed out to the waiting SUVs in the parking garage.

JJ rode with Spencer and Derek to the airport. Emily had had to go get some things from her apartment and Hotch and Gideon had driven her. On arrival, the three agents boarded the lone plane on the tarmac at this hour. Spencer sprawled out on the sofa and opened the folder containing the case file while Morgan manned the coffee machine. JJ sat down by Reid's feet, waiting for the others. Before she knew it, Emily, Hotch, and Gideon boarded the plane and they were off.

After gaining altitude and then leveling out, the team began to work on the case again. "This is a bad one, isn't it?" JJ heard Emily say.

Derek sighed, "Unsubs with a cause are never good."

A voice sounded out of the laptop on the table, "Pets, I just got the 911 call from the Georgia State Police." Garcia started to play the tape as JJ walked over to the table.

"_911 what's your emergency?"_

_Heavy breathing can be heard…"1927 Chestnut Drive."_

"_I know where you're calling from, sir. What's your emergency?"_

"_He thinks they're too greedy. They have too much."_

"_Too much what?"_

"_Stuff. Possessions. Hurry!" A stutter is barely distinguishable. _

"_You're calling because these people have too much stuff?"_

"_No…I'm calling because Raphael…no…wait." A crash is heard._

_A second voice comes on the line. "That's enough."_

"_I don't want to!"_

"_He's calling because Raphael is going to kill the sinners that live here."_

"_I'm sorry; did you say somebody is killing someone?" The call ends._

The team just stares at each other. "Well…unsub one definitely sounds frightened. Maybe he's doing this against his will?" Emily states.

Gideon shakes his head, "I doubt it." Emily looks back at him, confused. "He whispered."

"He could have called out to save them instead of calling 911," Hotch continued.

Derek shrugged, "But if he had a gun to his head…"

"If he had a gun to his head, why would he have dialed 911?" Gideon countered.

JJ shifted the conversation, "The second unsub said that Raphael was going to kill someone. Is there a third?"

Spencer interjected in his rambling-random-facts tone-of-voice, "Speaking in the third-person is not uncommon for an unsub. Ted Bundy gave thorough accounts of his murders but he never actually admitted to doing it. He always said 'The Killer'."

Penelope drew the attention back to her little screen, "OK, I'm going to run the name, Raphael, through all of the Georgia state criminal databases as well as our own."

Hotch nodded, "Thanks, Garcia."

"Ever so welcome, my liege," She said before the screen went blank.

Sighing, Hotch said, "We have a killing team on a mission in rural Georgia and we know what that means."

Derek picked up crime scene photos, "They're not going to stop until their mission is complete."

"We need to hit the ground running. JJ, we need an inside picture of the victims. Victomology can be critically important in a mission-based killing."

"Got it," JJ said as she walked to the back of the plane. She grabbed her cellphone and dialed the Atlanta Police Department. Sifting through the facts of this case, she tried to sort out what was most important to ask first from the detectives.

"We land in less than an hour, everyone try and get some rest," Hotch finished giving orders and sat back down on the couch. Everyone else delved deeper into their respective duties.

After having confirmed that an evidence board with key facts about the Kyle family was being made, JJ sat back and closed her eyes. This was going to be a rough one. Pulling her feet up close to her chest and leaning against the side of the plane, she tried to catch a few minutes of sleep before the plane landed in Atlanta and the work began.


	2. Chapter 2

***Criminal Minds is not mine! It is an amazing show though...watch it ;)**

JJ headed right to the Atlanta Field Office with Hotch and while he worked on finding other killings, she worked on digging deep into the victim's lives. This was the part of the job that she hated. She always felt like she was invading privacy when going through page after page of private, detailed information. It made her think of what others would see and deem important if they were going through her life.

After an hour of searching, JJ didn't really have anything to show. Dennis Kyle worked out at a local gym and Lacey did Zumba three times a week at the high school down the street. Both Kyles had had a bout of pneumonia that needed to be treated with antibiotics last year. They'd gone on a cruise through the Bahamas over Christmas. Nothing really stood out. JJ started going from most-recent interactions to oldest, starting with the couple that was with the Kyles the night of the murder. Based on the police report, the Gentries were the last known persons to have seen the victims. One call and several questions later, JJ had some solid facts finally written down on her yellow legal pad, although, nothing screamed 'victim' to her from this sheet. Their house couldn't be seen from the road, and it was big enough that it would surely have some sort of security system. Putting down her pen and grabbing her notepad, JJ ran her hand through her hair. She saw Hotch get up and look at a map of the state on the wall and went to go talk to him.

"So, I just talked to the Gentries. They were the last couple to leave the Super Bowl party. According to them, the Kyles didn't have any enemies. They were good to their employees, more generous then they needed to be, they were just generally good people."

Hotch turned around to face her, "So why them?"

JJ shrugged, "Well if the trigger is greed, they do have a nice house."

"Yeah, but you can't tell that from the street. These people were chosen and we need to know why and how."

The head detective came up and interrupted their conversation, "I've pulled everything we have unsolved in the last two years. Nothing even close to our MO."

Hotch looked at him questionably, "Nothing involving a knife?"

"We have a lot of open cases involving knives but nothing like this. They're all common type crimes: bar fights, robberies…" He trailed off.

"Well this isn't their first contact. One of them has experience." Hotch looked pointedly at JJ and walked off to examine the evidence boards.

JJ smiled inwardly and turned on her charm as she sidled up to the bigger man, "Is it ok if I go through some of your case files?" He looked down at her, confused. "Fresh eyes?"

"There's nothing there."

She sighed and leaned in closer to him, "Help me out ok? These guys aren't going to let me doing anything else and I flew all the way down here, so…" She looked at him expectantly.

He smiled down at her, "I'll show you the file room."

Starting to follow behind him she looked back at Hotch. He had a smile on his face and nodded her way. She knew that this is exactly what Hotch wanted her to do. He didn't care how she did it, just that it got done. JJ got to the case room and groaned in her head. There had to be at least a hundred boxes in here.

"I have to go brief some new detectives coming in, but you can have a go at these," The detective told her before turning to leave.

JJ nodded, "Thanks again." As he left, she scanned the room's layout. The boxes to her right on the table seemed to be the most recent, so that's where she started. After going through case upon case going back about 6 months, JJ still had nothing. She looked over at the other table in the room and saw a smaller pile of cases. Upon further review, she noticed that they were all home invasions. She was about to delve deeper into that pile when Gideon rushed into the room.

"JJ, come see this," He said before running back out.

JJ jumped up and followed behind him on the way out to a computer at which Reid was sitting with Morgan behind him. She watched as Spencer told Garcia to start a video. It started off with a man in a black hoodie reading verses from the bible, then ended with their victims being murdered. She looked away before she could see Mr. Kyle's throat being slit. Something the unsub had said stuck with her, "Punish you seven times?"

"So five more victims," Gideon added.

Derek picked up his coffee from the table, "These images were shot from the exact same location that that computer was sitting." He pointed to the laptop from the crime scene that Reid was currently looking at.

Hotch looked over at Reid, "So if the video was shot from the camera from that computer, what, did the unsubs bring it with them?"

Reid shook his head, "As far as I know, this laptop belonged to the Kyles. Garcia can do a better analysis but it has their banking statements, vacation photos…"

"So, one comes into the room and immediately goes after Mr. Kyle...did the other unsub turn the camera on?"

"I might be asking the wrong question," Gideon interjected, "This video, this message, it's important; clearly they want the world to see this. They need it, but they didn't bring a camera with them…." He trailed off.

JJ saw Spencer start to examine the camera closely, and then stand up slowly with a look of panic in his eyes. "Agent Franks, does this building have wireless internet?"

The detective turned to look at him, "Yeah, why?"

Spence looked back down at the laptop, "That camera is on right now. The computer connected itself to the Internet and it's streaming a video feed right now."

"Can we trace the stream to the destination?" Hotch asked.

"If we keep it open Garcia might be able-"

A loud beeping interrupted Reid's sentence. Everyone gathered around the computer as the words "THE ARMIES OF SATAN WILL NOT PREVAIL" flashed on the screen, one by one.

Hotch looked over at Reid, "He's controlling it remotely?"

Emily scoffed, "Is that even possible?"

The team listened as Garcia told them just how possible it was, with details involving IT support and Trojan horses, it seemed like a legit crime someone could pull off. Penelope ended with telling them that this video was the most-downloaded video of the weekend. JJ put her face in her hands and sighed. People were sick.

She heard Gideon say, "Murder is entertainment."

"They probably don't even realize what they're watching, thinking it's some preview for a new horror show," she said as she looked up.

The team got up and went to where they were set up at the station. After briefing each other on what they had found out, they realized that there wasn't enough for a solid profile yet. JJ went back to the case file room to dig deeper. She continued looking through the pile of home invasion cases, looking for something that stood out. She was about three months back in the stack of cases when she came across one with the Kyle's address. Pulling out the file, she flipped through the police report. Apparently, there had been a man outside their home trying to sneak up to the door. A witness named Tobias Hankel saw him and called the police. When officers arrived, the man was gone. That was all that was in the case file. No description or anything. The details involving this incident were few and far between. JJ figured that she might need to go talk to this Mr. Hankel guy. The first would-be robber could be their unsub.

Walking out to the evidence boards where Hotch and Reid were, JJ started filling Hotch in, "Well, Franks is right. None of the open knife cases fit."

Hotch looked at the evidence boards and then back at her, "Hopefully there's a but."

JJ nodded, "Well, I looked at it a different way. I looked for unsolved home invasions. Three months ago, there was a prowler called in directly outside of the Kyle's house."

Reid stopped eating his Rice Krispy treat and looked up, "A prowler?"

JJ continued, "The witness was walking his dog in a nearby park, saw a man in dark clothing sneaking up to the house. By the time the state police got there, the prowler was gone."

"Was the witness able to describe him?"

She shrugged, "If he did, it's not in this case file."

Hotch started writing things down for evidence, "Is there a name and address for the witness?"

"A Tobias Hankel lives about an hour from here," JJ replied.

Hotch sighed as he turned back to her, "It's a long shot, but he might be able to give us a description. Why don't you take Reid and see if he remembers something."

"Got it," JJ said as she moved to go get her purse. She and Reid headed out to the SUV.

Reid got into the passenger seat without question and JJ laughed. He never liked to drive. If anyone else was going with him, Reid always made the other person do it. JJ jumped in the driver's seat and started the car. She headed off towards the highway. "So Spence, do you think we'll get anything out there?"

Reid shrugged, "I don't know. It's worth a shot, but I don't think he'll much help, honestly. The brain only has so much room to store memories and three months-"

JJ cut him off, "So you don't think he'll remember much?"

Smiling, Reid said, "Not much."

They were about 15 minutes into their trip when JJ got a call on her cellphone. Reid answered it for her. After he hung up he said, "There's been another murder. This time, the victim didn't even live in the house and he took a woman."

JJ looked at him, confused, "Was it her boyfriend?"

Reid shook his head, "Gideon thinks they were having an affair. The husband was off on a business trip and the man found murdered was a local handyman. There was also the Revelations passage regarding adulterers found on the bed."

"Huh," JJ shook her head, "I really hope this guy has something."

Nodding, Reid paused and then asked, "JJ, can we drive-through somewhere on the way? I'm starving!"

She laughed, "Spence, didn't you just have a snack?"

"Well, yeah but that was only a snack! We left in the middle of the night and I haven't gotten in a full meal since…"

JJ smiled at him and drove through a McDonald's to get him a hamburger and a pop. She would rather not eat then consume all of those calories, especially with the huge pop Spencer got. The rest of the trip was uneventful, except for the two of them fighting over what music to listen to. JJ would tune in to a country station and every time she looked, Spencer changed it to a classical music station or NPR. After about the third time this happened, she finally complained, "Come on, Spence! NPR? Really? Why can't we just listen to some music?"

"NPR has some really good news, JJ! Besides, country music is just about being heartbroken and drinking beer, where's the fun in that?"

JJ laughed, "I was born and raised on country music! And I'm about to fall asleep over here if we listen to any more news. The radio was made for MUSIC!"

Reid shook his head, "The radio was actually made to transmit signals-"

She groaned, "STOP! You're even worse than NPR!"

Perking up, he said, "So I can put it back on?"

She cranked the steering wheel of the SUV to the right, "Not now, Spence. We're here."

Reid looked disappointed but then remembered something, "How about on the drive back?"

"How about we just talk to Mr. Hankel right now and figure that out later, OK?" She said as she put the car into park. JJ looked around at her surroundings and discovered that she would rather stay put than actually get out and talk to this guy. The house seemed old and decrepit, the driveway was super long and you couldn't see the road anymore. There was junk all over the yard and a huge, old red barn out back. She thought she heard dogs barking out in the distance.

Spencer looked over at her, "You ready J?"

JJ collected herself and nodded, "Let's go."

Spencer was closer to the house and JJ jogged to catch up with him, staying close by. She was still taking in the appearance of the house, which got worse and worse as she got closer. They got up to the porch and it creaked under their weight. There were no outside lights save a tiny lamp by the door, but the moon lit up the yard, casting a creepy shadow over everything. She stepped in front of Reid and knocked on the door and a young-looking brown-haired man answered it. "Hi, Mr. Hankel?"

The man only opened the door enough so his face was showing, "Yeah?"

JJ smiled at him, hoping it would make them seem less threatening. He probably never had visitors, much less two formally dressed FBI agents showing up at a strange hour. "Mr. Hankel, FBI. I'm Agent Jareau, this is Agent Reid," she said as she showed him her badge.

Mr. Hankel looked confused, "FBI?"

Reid piped up from behind her, "Can we come in?" He was nervously tapping his foot.

Tobias looked behind him, "I don't let anyone in the house."

Reid spoke again, "Actually, I really have to…ya know….go?"

JJ looked back at him, "You do?"

"Yeah, for like 30 minutes!"

"Why didn't you say something in the car?"

Reid just shook his head and looked back at Mr. Hankel, "Do you mind?"

Mr. Hankel looked behind him again, "My…my father doesn't like it."

Reid was desperate, "Your father? What are you like 30?"

Tobias got a funny look on his face, "At what age should kids start disrespecting the mercies of their parents?"

JJ tried to steer the conversation back to the point, "A few months ago, you witnessed something that might be very helpful to us."

"I did?"

JJ nodded, "You saw someone go over a wall near a house, you called the police?"

"Me?"

She was getting frustrated. No way did they just drive an hour out of their way for nothing, "You didn't?"

Tobias looked down, "Sorry."

"Is there another Tobias Hankel here?"

He shook his head, "Just me and my father, Charles."

"Well there is a report on file that lists you as calling 911. You were walking a dog—"

Tobias cut her off, "No that's wrong I don't have a dog."

"Oh, alright well sorry to bother you sir." JJ smiled even though she was pissed.

Reid's voice was extremely high when he said, "Are you sure I can't just quickly use the-?"

"Sorry." Tobias said, right before he shut the door in their face.

JJ turned to look at Reid as they both started walking to the edge of the porch, "That's weird," she said as the only light shut off. "Why bother calling the police in the first place if later you were just going to pretend you didn't?"

Reid was looking down at the ground mouthing some words. He finally looked up at her with a look of surprise on his face, "To gauge the response time!"

"What?"

Reid was talking faster as he got more and more excited, "If you wanted to kill someone but call the police first, what would you need to know?"

It suddenly dawned on her, "How long it takes them to get there…"

Spencer turned and ran back towards the house. "Wait, Reid!" He continued to run around the corner and out of sight so JJ had no choice but to follow him. She turned the corner and Spencer was staring into a dusty old window. She heard a door slam and then Reid's frantic whispering.

"JJ, come back here! He's the unsub! He's in the barn, come on." Spencer then took off towards the barn with her following with her gun drawn. Her heart was racing, especially since they were an hour away from their team, out in the middle of nowhere with a murderer running loose.

They ran to a corner of the barn and stopped to catch their breath, "He's in here," Spencer said as he tried to peer through the cracks in the wall.

"You sure?"

"Call Hotch."

JJ put her hands in the air, "We're in the middle of nowhere Reid, we have no cell service!"

"Ugh, great, of course we have no service," Reid frantically looked around the abandoned property.

"What do we do?"

"I don't know, he's definitely in here."

JJ cocked her gun and put it at her side as Spencer started to ramble, "Well, Hotch knows we came here, he'll come looking for us! We'll just wait him out!" Reid then moved to go behind the barn and before JJ knew it, he was gone.

* * *

***Reviews would be nice* :) Right now, I'm still going through the episode a lot trying to get the details down right. The next chapter will have more of JJ's thoughts in it but right now I'm just setting it up still. **


	3. Chapter 3

***Still don't own CM...Thanks to JJCM for reviewing :) Right now I'm just going to retell it from JJ's POV. I might do other stories in the future that are different but since this is my first one, I decided to keep it simple...***

"Reid, no, no, no wait, are you sure we should…" She realized she was talking to empty air and sighed, "Split up?" Her heart was racing and adrenaline was pumping through her system. She was getting cramped from crouching in her heels in the dirt for so long. Not the best day to wear cute shoes. She thought she heard Spencer yell something, but couldn't quite hear it and she didn't want to yell back and attract attention to herself. She tried to whisper back but knew he probably wouldn't be able to hear. Suddenly, the door in front of her moved and she whipped around to point her gun at it. She was breathing heavily now, partly from being scared out of her mind, "Reid?" She asked to the darkness.

"Reid," she pleaded, hoping that he would be the cause of the noise. JJ moved around the door, cautiously trying to take in everything that could possibly be a threat. This was almost impossible considering how dark it was outside. She had her flashlight crossed with her gun and she was trying to see what was in the barn. There were some chains above her that clanked whenever the wind blew and the wood kept creaking beneath her. She felt like this was the part in the scary movie when the audience yells for the actor to turn around and run. Only she couldn't run, because Reid was somewhere back here and he might need her help. She didn't know what she would do if something happened to him. The team would probably blame her for splitting up even though it was his idea. God, for a boy genius, he really did have some stupid ideas sometimes.

JJ crept further and further into the barn. Her next step made a squishy noise and she felt the earth move under her feet. She really, really hoped that it was just water. JJ stared off into the dark space in front of her, trying to muster up enough courage to look down. She finally moved her gun and flashlight slowly towards her feet. She had stepped in a puddle of red.

She quickly moved her foot out of the puddle and fought the urge to feel nauseated. She didn't need that distraction her right now. JJ saw something move out of the corner of her eye and yanked her gun up to her eye level. Two beady, black eyes stared back at her. Quickly moving the flashlight beam around her, she found two more sets of eyes. She started to back up, but the eyes moved and charged right at her. JJ screamed and shot two of the things but couldn't shoot the last one before it lunged at her. She tried to dodge it but felt it grab her and pain shot up her arm. Switching her gun to her left hand, she shot in the direction of where she last saw the beast and heard a whimper. Breathing heavily, she ran backwards over to a corner and ducked down to catch her breath. "Dogs," she whispered, "I just shot three dogs."

JJ felt blood running down her arm and pressed her hand against it to try and stop the bleeding. She didn't dare move from her position because all the noise had probably attracted the unsub. She just hoped that Reid would find him before he found her. Minutes passed and JJ became even more nervous. She had thought she heard a truck start far off but she decided it must have been her mind playing tricks on her. She sat cramped in the corner of the barn, trying not to make noise or move, but the stench of something was overwhelming her. JJ thought she had seen a person on the floor of the barn before the dogs attacked her, but she wasn't sure. She definitely didn't think that person was alive anymore, if it was even there.

The pain in her arm was throbbing, making her lean up against the dusty wall of the barn. She maneuvered herself over to a bale of hay and dragged it up against the corner so her back was to the wall. She didn't want anything sneaking up on her again. JJ sat down and kept trying to staunch the bleeding in her arm. She couldn't see how bad the damage was, but it hurt enough for her to know it wasn't good. JJ started searching through her pockets for her cell with her good arm, but then realized that she'd left it in the car. She cursed to herself. She might not have any signal, but she would have at least known what time it was and how long she'd been out here if she'd had it. She didn't dare run out to the car because she had no idea what else was out here. Deciding that she had to do something other than sit here for the rest of her life, JJ started to creep towards the door. She was being careful to avoid puddles of blood and the bodies of the dogs, but she didn't see the mattress lying across her path. Tripping over the edge, she barely caught herself before her body hit the mattress. Her gun went clanging off behind her and her flashlight rolled off into the darkness.

Her hands hit a wet patch of the mattress and slipped. She ended up kneeling on the mattress in the middle of the barn, completely exposed. JJ panicked and started feeling around everywhere for her flashlight and gun but her fingers touched something wet and slimy that had the consistency of raw meat. She froze in place. Trying not to throw up, she slowly backed up until her heel hit something. She bent down to get her gun and the moon filtered in through the cracks in the walls so she could see what was in front of her for a few seconds. She assumed that the remains left over where she had just been were of the woman Reid was talking about when they were on the way here. There was nothing distinguishable left that would give away that the mass of blood and flesh was a person.

JJ retreated back to her corner, shaking. The temperature was dropping as it got later in the night. She really wished that Reid would come get her, or that Hotch would realize that Tobias was the unsub. This was the most scared that she had ever been in her life. The worst part was knowing that she was feet from a mutilated body and that she was too scared to move from her hiding place. She kept hearing noises and couldn't tell if they were real or imagined. JJ started to think back to the woman that was laying just feet from her. How much pain must she have suffered in the last minutes of her life? Those dogs tore her to pieces. There was literally nothing left. What would you have to do with your life to deserve that sort of death? Her thoughts ran away from reality, dreaming up scenarios in which Tobias came back and murdered her, or got more dogs that were bigger, or that he had killed Reid.

Her thoughts were interrupted by sirens off in the distance. She tensed up and tightened her grip on her gun. How was she to know if whoever was coming was the police? Anyone can buy a siren these days…The sirens kept getting louder and louder until she could hear the tires of the cars scattering the gravel in the driveway. JJ ducked down below some hay bales and waited to see what would happen. She heard car doors slamming and the sirens were shut off. There were men yelling and she could hear people running, getting closer and closer to her. She tried to peek around the bale, but without her flashlight, she couldn't see much. What she could see was lights bobbing around in the yard and coming towards her.

JJ decided that if this was going to be her last stand, she would at least give them a little surprise. She tucked herself way back in her corner and waited. Three flashlight beams waved across the barn walls, so she assumed three people had just entered the barn. She waited until one beam fell across the mattress and, knowing that sight would distract anyone who saw it, she jumped up with her gun cocked to take full advantage of the distraction. "FBI!" She yelled as she pointed her gun at the man closest to her. She then noticed there was another man and a woman in the barn as well and she didn't know which one to shoot first. Her gun flickered between the man by the door, the one closest to her, and the woman in the middle.

A familiar voice yelled back, "JJ, it's Morgan!"

The woman yelled after that, "JJ!" They sounded familiar but she wasn't sure…

"DON'T MOVE!" JJ said as she backed up and continued to point her gun at each person, aware that all three had guns pointed at her. She was trying so hard to see through the darkness, but she just couldn't.

The man closest to her flashed a light in her eyes and she blinked, "It's Morgan and Prentiss, don't shoot!" JJ had a vague recollection of knowing people with these names…she started to lower her gun as Morgan walked closer. "That's right. Ok. Are you hurt?"

Prentiss moved towards her but all she could do was stare into Morgan's eyes. She felt Emily hold her arm to examine it but she could barely feel the pain. "Tobias Hankel is the unsub."

"Yeah, we know," Morgan said as he moved closer. He patted her good arm to make sure she was ok.

The other man that she had never seen before and just realized was a police officer put his gun in his holster and said, "I'll go call an ambulance." Morgan nodded.

JJ holstered her gun and started to ramble, "We just thought he was a witness." Morgan looked around at the bodies of the dead dogs and JJ got defensive, "I had to kill them!"

Morgan turned back to her, "JJ, where's Reid?"

She looked over at the bloody mattress, "They just completely tore her apart. There's nothing even left…"

Emily interrupted her, "JJ, look at me!" JJ looked at the dogs one last time and then faced Emily, "Where's Reid?"

JJ was confused. Surely they had found Reid before they found her? "We split up, he said he was going to go around back." Morgan ran out of the barn and JJ looked back at Emily, "You didn't find him?"

Emily shook her head with a grim look on her face before putting her arm around JJ's shoulders, "Let's go get you cleaned up Jayje."

The brunette lead JJ out of the barn and into the yard, which was swamped with police officers. She saw Gideon and Hotch exiting the house, but there was still no sign of Reid. Gideon went to talk to some policemen that were gathered around a squad car, but Hotch came over to talk to her. "JJ, what happened? Why weren't you guys together?"

JJ was still in a state of shock, "It was his idea…we had just figured out that Tobias was the unsub when he ran out back. Reid thought he was in the barn, but he wasn't. I tried to tell Spence that it wasn't a good idea to split up but he left before I could finish and I tried, Hotch-"

Hotch stopped her by putting a hand on her shoulder, but then Gideon called him over and he turned to leave, shooting back a sympathetic look at her. Hotch definitely thought that this was her fault, she just knew it. That thought alone was enough to make JJ turn away from Emily and start to tear up. Emily started to say something but an ambulance raced up the driveway just in time. JJ went over to get checked out without saying another word. The medic cleaned up her arm and wrapped a bandage tightly around it. Emily had followed her after a brief word with Hotch and Gideon and was now talking to the medic about infections and stress-related injuries. This was just annoying JJ because she felt that Emily should be out looking for Reid. Everyone should.

The police officer that she saw earlier walked over to the ambulance. Emily noticed him come up and said, "Any sign of him?"

He shook his head, "We got every one of our units on the road, he won't make it far." He nodded in JJ's direction before heading back the way he came.

JJ looked at Emily, "We can't find Reid?"

Emily shook her head, "Not yet."

JJ's heart dropped. She stared at Emily until Morgan came over to talk to her and they walked a few paces away from where she was sitting. Reid was missing and it was her fault. If only she had just yelled back! What if that was Reid yelling for help? Now he's probably thinking that she didn't have his back. In reality, she hadn't because they had been apart. She hadn't said anything before he left. JJ knew that splitting up was a bad idea but she hadn't tried to keep him close to her!

The medic took JJ's blood pressure and sighed, "You need to relax now, your BP is extremely high."

JJ glared at him, "Is that all?" After he nodded she walked up to the house to join the rest of her team. Prentiss and Morgan had just left with some police officers to check out a lead that was just called in. Hotch and Gideon were standing on the porch talking. When JJ walked up to them, she could tell that they changed the subject.

"JJ, you should get some rest. There's a motel not far from here. It's right up the road." Hotch suggested.

She was not having that, "No way Hotch. I'm staying here until we find Reid, no questions asked."

Hotch didn't give up, "Then you need to find a quiet place here and rest, JJ. You just went through a traumatic event. I saw a bed upstairs and some clean sheets, let's go." He motioned for her to follow him in the house.

JJ didn't move, "You think I'll be able to sleep when Reid is missing?"

"I don't expect you to sleep, but you need to rest. There's really nothing we can do right now, anyway. Garcia is on a plane here right now and she's going to look at Tobias' computers tomorrow. When Prentiss and Morgan get back, we're going to start going through some of his things in the house to see what we can find."

JJ heard the message loud and clear. She wasn't needed. She followed him into the house and up some stairs until she came to a bedroom that clearly hadn't been used in years. They had passed Tobias' room and his father's room and JJ was relieved that Hotch didn't expect her to use either of those. She couldn't even relax outside; being in one of the Hankel's personal rooms would have pushed her over the edge.

Hotch opened up a wicker basket in the corner that held a bunch of blankets and placed one over the couch that was in the room. He took another one out and laid it on top. Before leaving he said, "I'll come up and get you if we find anything new." She nodded and he walked out and shut the door.

JJ walked over to the couch and curled up under the blanket. When she had gotten her phone from the SUV it had said 2:30 a.m. That had been at least half an hour ago. Oddly enough, she'd been running on hardly any sleep before but she hadn't felt tired until she lay down. Her eyes seemed to close by themselves and she didn't have time to think before she drifted off.

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**Review? Please? :)**


	4. Chapter 4

***Thanks to Livion and IwKa for reviewing :) I really appreciate it! Trying to write towards the end of your senior year is pretty tough...only 10 more school days to go though, then I'm done for good! Well...until college in the fall of course haha...***

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JJ woke to someone moving around in the room she was sleeping in. Panicking, she pushed herself off the couch quickly before wincing at the pain in her left arm. "Hey JJ, relax, it's just me!" Emily said as she rushed over to her friend's side. JJ breathed out a sigh and fell back into the couch, holding her arm. "Here," Emily handed her a bottle of water and some pain medication.

She quickly downed the pills before asking, "Did we find Reid?"

Emily shook her head, "Hotch just left to wait for Garcia to land at the airport and in the meantime, everyone else is downstairs going through some journals we found. I picked up your bag from the station." She pointed to a duffel bag sitting by the door, "Why don't you freshen up and come down?"

JJ nodded, "Thanks, Em." She watched as Emily walked out the door. She put her head down in her hands and felt the strongest urge to be sick. Reid was gone and they had no idea where he was. She should have stayed with him. He's so young…Why did she ever let him out of her sight? JJ remembered the jokes they had shared on the way to this place and started to tear up. What if she never heard that laughter again? JJ tried to push that thought out of her head, but it was too late. The tears rolled down her face. Reid was one of her best friends and she knew he felt the same. Well, at least he used to, who knows what he'll think of her after this stunt?

Shoving those thoughts to the back of her mind JJ stood up and tried to pull herself together. Grabbing her bag by the door, she walked into the adjoining bathroom and started to get ready. She didn't feel like taking a shower, so she just brushed through her hair some and let it fall around her shoulders. Looking at herself in the mirror, she sighed. There were dark circles under her red and puffy eyes that gave away the fact that she didn't sleep well. She had woken up throughout the night at the slightest noise, which was frequent considering there was a team of FBI agents working below her.

JJ quickly applied some make-up to make her look presentable. Then she brushed her teeth before shoving all of her things back in her bag and heading downstairs. Gideon and Prentiss were standing around the small table in the main room and she went over and sat down at the table. The room was a mess. There were spare computer parts everywhere and papers strewn about. Tobias had stuffed every nook and cranny of this house full of random junk. Figuring out anything usable from this mess was going to be extremely difficult.

JJ sighed, "What's going on right now?"

Gideon lifted up a box at his feet and placed it on the table, "We just found some journals that look like they are Tobias' or Charles'. Prentiss and I were just starting to go through them."

She then realized the boxes upon boxes that were piled up behind them, "All of them?"

Gideon pushed the box over to her, "It might tell us where he's taken Reid."

JJ felt a stab of guilt and started working on going through the journals at a fast pace. She had a pad and pencil at the ready to write down anything she thought was important and began to categorize the journals into different phases of the unsub's life. The journals were mostly in order but there were a few that seemed to stick out. She set those aside, ready to be analyzed later in the day.

She was so engrossed in her work that she jumped when she heard the front door open. Looking over, she saw Hotch holding the door for Garcia who had a worried look on her face. JJ hoped that Garcia wouldn't blame her for this.

Hotch set down his briefcase by the door and Garcia looked around the room. "Welcome to our nightmare," JJ said to her before looking back down at the journals.

Garcia looked like she was about to cry before Gideon drew her attention back to the task at hand, "The computer is an extension of his brain. I need you to dissect it."

Penelope nodded as Morgan pulled her to the other room, "I'll get you set up, come on."

"So, nothing new since I left?" Hotch asked.

Emily picked up a journal and started filling Hotch in, "Well, the good news is, the guy practically documented every second of his life. The bad news is that we're still unpiling."

JJ pitched in, "From the looks of it, he hasn't left this place in years." It was creepy how much you could write about the ins and outs of one little house.

"He knew he could be pretending to be looking for a motel and throw us off his trail," Emily concluded.

"No, no, no, it's more than that," Gideon interrupted, "Sheriff's office, 911 calls, every time he engages the police he gets away with it, reassures himself. God's on his side, not ours."

JJ was leaning with her hand on the table, listening. Hotch settled in to help go through the piles. JJ's arm was starting to ache and she realized that she hadn't changed the bandages since the medic put them on. She had seen Emily put some in the room she had slept in and got up to go change.

Once alone in the room again, JJ relaxed. It was hard trying to put up a front with everyone, even though they probably saw right through her. She was so worried about Reid. She needed to throw herself into her work; otherwise her thoughts would get away from her and dwell on Reid. That just made her want to throw up.

Gingerly, she started unwrapping the tightly-wound bandage that encased her upper left arm. Once she got all the way done, she examined the wound with the help of a mirror. There was definite teeth marks, that's for sure. She was just glad the dog hadn't gotten her really badly. Her arm was tender and there was a lot of bruising still, but the medic had told her that would go down within a couple of days. JJ unholstered her gun to put it on a little stand near the sink so it wouldn't get wet. After cleaning and re-wrapping her arm, she rolled up the arm on her blouse so it wouldn't be so tight around her arm. She was wearing a white shirt and the blood leftover from yesterday was still on it. It had splattered all the way up by her neck as well, which made her look even worse for wear. JJ grabbed a towel and tried to get some of it off but it was no use.

The blood on her shirt made her think back to the events of yesterday. She was stupid to go in that huge, dark barn all by herself. Something worse could have snuck up behind her and she would've been out of luck. She'd had some nightmares last night, all involving dogs of some sort. She always saw the eyes just like she'd seen them last night. Eyes of a predator hunting their prey: her.

JJ had always loved dogs. Her family had had several growing up, ranging from an adorable golden retriever to a cuddly pit-bull mix. She'd been scared around a dog once before in her life, when one of her dogs, a mutt they'd gotten for free, got in a fight with a Chow after it had growled at her sister. That dog had not hesitated to protect them, yet JJ just shot three of the same species yesterday.

Now, she thought she would be content with never seeing a dog again. All those nights spent cuddled up next to her favorite dog, a yellow-lab named Callie, were ruined. Those three dogs had attacked her without a second thought. She hadn't even realized that they were there, yet they felt threatened enough to kill. JJ shivered at the thought. They would have ripped her apart just like they had the other woman. The image of the soaked bloody mattress came to her mind and she closed her eyes to try and get rid of it. Beady eyes stared back at her from the darkness and she opened her eyes slowly, trying to tell herself they weren't real.

But were they? One set of dark eyes was looking at her through the mirror right now! Her heart started racing as images of the dogs attacking her sent her body into a frenzy. She knew she only had one shot, so she groped around next to her for her gun before she spun around to shoot…

"Hey, hey, JJ, it's me!" Emily yelled out before any shots fired. JJ hurriedly tried to make it look like she was just putting her gun back in her holster but knew she had failed, "Are you alright?" Prentiss had her hands up, wary of what she was going to do next. Great. Now they'd think she's crazy.

"Um, yeah, I'm alright. I'm sorry, you just scared me," JJ said nervously as she fidgeted with her holster.

"I'm sorry," Emily apologized. JJ looked at her once, then stared down at the floor, worried with what her friend would say. "I'm talking tomorrow morning to some guy who knew Hankel from Narcotics Anonymous, why don't you come with me? Get out of the house?"

JJ nodded weakly, "Yeah."

Emily still looked suspicious, "Ok, great." She turned to leave.

"Emily," JJ stopped her, "How come none of this gets to you?"

She looked confused, "What do you mean?"

Hotch came up behind Prentiss as JJ continued, "You came off a desk job, now suddenly, you're in the field surrounded by mutilated bodies…you don't even flinch."

"She's right, you've never blinked," Hotch added.

Emily looked from Hotch back to JJ several times, "I guess…maybe…I just…compartmentalize better than most people."

They didn't have a chance to answer her before they heard Morgan yelling from outside. The three of them ran to where his voice was coming from, which was the side of the house near a storm door leading down to the basement. It had been covered with hay, which was why no one had noticed it before.

JJ watched as Morgan and Hotch walked down into the cement chamber. They both resurfaced moments later with disgusted looks on their faces. "We think his father is down there," Hotch said.

JJ was confused as to why they were leaving this door wide open with a suspect's father on the loose until she peeked around Hotch to see blocks upon blocks of thick ice leading down the stairs. She felt like she was going to be sick again, so she turned to go back into the house. She was about to brush past Penelope, who had come away from the computers to see what the commotion was, but Garcia reached out for her, "Jayje? You ok?"

She tried to turn out of Garcia's grasp before she saw the tears welled up in her eyes, but she was too slow. "Jay, honey, what's wrong?"

Shaking her head, she moved to go upstairs. Surprisingly, Garcia let her, but then JJ realized she was following her up the stairs. Walking to the room she had slept the night before, JJ sat down on the couch and put her head in her hands, trying to maintain her composure.

Garcia sat down beside her with her arm around her, "JJ, come on, talk to me."

JJ leaned into the hug, "I'm just scared…for Reid. God, where is he?"

Hugging her closer, Garcia tried to calm soothe her worries, "We'll find him, Jay. No worries. We're the best of the best, you know."

She turned to look at the curly-haired blonde sitting next to her, "The best of the best? Do the best of the best split up in the middle of the night with a crazy unsub? Do they? Do they go into a dark barn, unprotected, with no cover, and try to clear it? Do they, Garcia? Because I don't think they do."

Garcia's eyes widened as she figured out what was going on, "Oh, honey, this is in no way your fault. All of this rests on Tobias Hankel's shoulders. You couldn't have done anything."

JJ scoffed, "I could've, if I had been there! He wanted to split up, but he wasn't thinking straight. I should've argued with him! I should've had his back!" The tears were sliding down her face now, "He's like my brother, Pen, and I let down…"

Rubbing her shoulder's Penelope continued her reassuring words, "Hotch told me you said that it was Reid's idea to split up. We both know that boy and you couldn't have said anything to make him think that he was in the wrong. Who knows? If you were with him, Tobias might have taken both of you!"

JJ sniffed, "If that happened, at least he wouldn't be alone right now."

Garcia sighed, "We'll find him. Don't worry. Get some rest right now, OK? You'll need to be fresh and ready to do work tomorrow. Try to relax, please." She stood and picked up the blanket that JJ had thrown earlier this morning, "I'll be back up in a while, OK? I think I can work a couple more hours still, since I slept on the plane over." Garcia draped the blanket around JJ's shoulders, "I love you, my little blossom."

JJ had to crack a smile at that, "Love you too, Pen." After Garcia left, JJ sprawled out on the sofa. All these nights with no sleep were catching up with her because she was completely exhausted. They would find Reid. They had to. She let that thought be the last thing she heard before drifting off to sleep.

JJ was curled up in a ball on the end of the sofa when she finally heard Garcia come in the room. It must have been about 3 in the morning, JJ guessed. Penelope heard JJ move and said, "Just me Jay, go back to sleep." Great. Word must have gotten around about her over-reactions.

"Mmhmm," JJ mumbled as she adjusted herself on the couch. She felt something on the other end and moved her blanket so she could see. Emily sat curled up on the opposite end, hugging a blanket and fast asleep. JJ hadn't even heard her come in. She smiled. Hotch probably told everyone to get some rest tonight and start fresh in the morning. JJ was glad for the company because it made her feel less vulnerable. To what, she couldn't say but she was relaxed for the first time all week.

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***Reviews are always appreciated greatly :) * **


	5. Chapter 5

**Sorry this one is so long, there just wasn't a good place to stop. Probably only one more chapter left...Thanks to JJCM for reviewing! I appreciate it a lot!**

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JJ was the first one to wake up the next day. She carefully got up from the couch, trying not to wake Emily, and went in the bathroom. Looking in the mirror, she decided that she needed to clean herself up, primarily because she and Emily were going to interview someone who knew Tobias and her hair looked like a greasy mess. JJ slowly removed the bandage encasing her left arm and was surprised to see that it had already started to heal. After showering, she only wrapped it once so the sleeve of her shirt wouldn't irritate it.

Walking back into the bedroom, she noticed that Garcia was already gone but Emily was still on the couch. JJ joined the rest of the team downstairs in the kitchen and Gideon offered her some fruit.

"Prentiss still asleep?" Hotch asked. JJ nodded. "Ok, Morgan, a police officer should be back any minute with the coroner's report from Charles Hankel. I want you to talk to him and find out what happened. Garcia, you keep digging through the computers and try to find out if there are any places Hankel frequented. Gideon and I will continue to go through the journals Hankel wrote. Let's all meet back here in two hours to see what we've got." The team nodded and everyone left.

She stopped Hotch before he walked out the door, "What about me?"

"You and Emily are going to interview the man from Henkel's Narcotics Anonymous meetings. You can just relax until she gets up." Then he turned and left her alone in the kitchen.

JJ sighed, trying to hold in the tears. No one wanted her around, which wasn't that surprising since she was the one who caused this whole mess. She looked out the window and tried to eat a little. Her stomach had been nauseous ever since she found out that Spencer was gone, so it was difficult. She really needed to focus if she was going to be any help in getting him back.

She heard footsteps coming down the stairs and turned around. Emily was coming down with some papers she had found yesterday, "You ready?" JJ nodded but Emily looked skeptical, "JJ, you know you can talk to me right?"

JJ nodded again and motioned to the door, "Can we just go? I feel like I'm trapped inside this house."

Emily grabbed the keys to one of the SUVs and headed out the door with JJ right behind her. They both got in and headed to the address listed on the paper with all of the Narcotics Anonymous meetings on it. JJ wasn't sure if this was going to lead to anything, since the paper appeared to be around 12 years old, but she was glad to be doing something productive, instead of just being in everyone's way.

The women drove about ten minutes to an old house that looked abandoned. There were a few broken bicycles in the front, the lawn was unkempt, and there was junk all over the front porch. The only sign of life was under the flashy red sports car that had the hood open. A man was working underneath it, but got up when he heard the SUV approach. JJ and Emily got out of the car and took their badges to show the man, "FBI," Emily said as they approached. The man looked surprised. "Do you know a Tobias Hankel?" Emily showed him the papers.

"Tobias Hankel?" The man cracked a smile and handed the papers back, "I haven't thought about that boy in probably ten years!"

"So, you two were in a program together?" JJ asked.

The man looked down at the ground and nodded before looking back up, "Yeah, he should tell you, but I was his sponsor. Small town, we all get lumped together. Me, I was just a drunk, but Tobias…he was a whole different sort of animal."

Emily looked down at the papers she held in her hand, "So, what was Tobias' drug of choice?"

"Dilaudid."

Emily turned to JJ, "Drug store heroin…"

"He used to cut it with a psychedelic …That boy was looking to escape as far away from reality as he could get. Addicts don't get excuses, but if someone ever needed to self-medicate, it was that boy."

"Why's that?"

The man looked like the answer was obvioius, "You know anything about his daddy?"

The two women looked at each other before JJ said, "We think Tobias Hankel may have murdered his father."

"Good for him!"

JJ looked astounded. Who says that? She looked over at Emily and she had the same expression on her face.

"Tobias' mama ran off with another man when he was seven. His dad went section 8. Started preaching 'bout sin and end of the world stuff," The man shook his head, "He beat Tobias silly. He burned a cross in his forehead when Tobias was ten. If Tobias wore a hat, he beat him more."

"Is there anyone that Tobias would turn to if he was on the run?" Emily asked.

"Far as I know, he never left home. You know, honestly, between his habit and his old man, I'm amazed he's still alive."

Prentiss nodded, "Thanks for your time. If you think of anything else that could be helpful, give us a call." She handed him a card and he stuffed it in his pocket before walking away. Both women walked back to the SUV and got in. "Well, that wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be."

JJ shook her head, "Not at all…we actually found out some useful information." She then turned to look out the window.

Emily sighed and started the drive back to the house. Their ride was silent and JJ was glad. She didn't want to have Emily prying into her feelings right now. All she wanted was to find Reid and have life go back to normal. If only she had followed him…

They arrived back at Hankel's house and JJ slowly followed Emily in. Hotch and Gideon were in the living room going over the journals. Emily walked up to the evidence board and pinned the notes she took up on the board. "Any luck with the rehab contact?" Gideon asked.

Emily turned to look at him, "Well he has no idea where Hankel might be, but we did learn that he has a serious drug problem: Dilaudid."

Hotch looked up from the folder he was leafing through, "Well that could explain the psychotic fracture."

JJ looked confused, "What are you talking about?" Nobody ever said anything about a fracture.

"Tobias is living as at least three different people: himself, Raphael, and his father."

A cop came in through the front door hurriedly and said, "Well this could be some bad news. A computer store was robbed, middle of the night. Suburb outside of Atlanta. Thief got away with four laptops, external hard drives, and a satellite."

Hotch sighed, "If it's Tobias it puts him right back in business."

A shout from the other room made JJ jump, "Guys, guys, get in here!" Morgan yelled.

Gideon, Hotch, and Prentiss all ran to the other room with JJ right on their tails. She saw the image displayed on four of the screens and had to try her hardest not to vomit. Her hand went to her throat and she gasped as she saw Spencer Reid tied up and bound to a chair in a dark room. He looked like he had blood on his head and his shoes were off.

"He's been beaten," Prentiss pointed out.

"Can't you track him?" JJ's voice squeaked out of anxiety. They were going to catch this bastard.

Garcia seemed mesmerized by the screens, "Hankel's only streaming this to his home computer."

"This is for us," Gideon stated, "He knows we're here."

JJ wanted to scream. Here they were, staring at their friend who was in pretty bad shape and there was nothing they could do about it. She wanted to yell his name, to tell him they were coming, to tell him she did have his back…but she couldn't. That would be a lie. They had no idea where he was and were no closer to figuring that out then they were this morning. She had failed him and now look where he was. One of her best friends was being beaten to death and it was going to happen right in front of her.

Morgan shook his head, "I want this guy's head on a stick."

"Why can't you locate him?" Hotch asked.

Garcia was now typing frantically, "He's rerouting to a different IP address every 30 seconds. I can't track him."

JJ's hand tightened around her throat, trying to keep herself under control.

"Can you really see inside men's minds?" A voice came out of the speakers. "See these vermin? Choose one to die." The voice didn't sound like anyone JJ had ever heard before.

"No," a weak voice, barely distinguishable, was heard. She recognized this voice.

"I thought you wanted to be some kind of savior?" The first voice sounded angry.

"You're a sadist on a psychotic break, you won't stop killing, your word is not true." The second voice sounded stronger this time, but JJ was nervous. Reid shouldn't make him angry…

"The other heathens are watching," Reid glanced at the camera before the man continued, "Choose a person to die and I'll say the name and address of the person to be saved."

"I won't choose who gets slaughtered and have you leave the remains behind like a poacher."

A man came on the screen and JJ recognized him as Tobias. She whimpered as he picked Reid up by the arms and got in his face, "Can you really see into my mind, boy? Can you see I'm not a liar?" He was screaming by the end of his sentence, "Choose one to die, save a life, otherwise they're all dead." He slammed Reid back down into the chair.

She could hear Reid breathing heavily now, "Alright." He was looking at something off-screen now, "I'll choose who lives."

"They're all the same," Tobias said.

Reid studied something for a moment, then said, "Far right screen."

"Marilyn David. 4913 Walnut Creek Road."

Garcia typed in the information as fast as Tobias said it and a phone number popped up on the screen. Gideon dialed it and JJ heard a woman answer, "Hello?"

"Marilyn David? My name is Jason Gideon. I'm with the FBI." Gideon was talking fast over her interruptions, "You need to go over to your computer right now and turn the camera off. Shut the whole computer off. Do it now. A police officer will be there shortly to explain what is happening." He then hung up.

Seconds after, the four screens showing Reid went black. JJ turned around and closed her eyes, trying her best to hold in the tears that were threatening to spill out. She jumped as someone slammed their fist into the door. Opening her eyes, she saw Morgan walking out of the house. Gideon looked over at her, annoyed, before stalking out of the room.

She needed some air. Practically running out of the house, she ran out into the woods. JJ went in a few feet and sat down on the trunk of a tree. The tears were freely flowing by now. She was still trying her hardest not to puke. Holding her stomach and rocking back and forth she sobbed until no more tears would come. There was going to be two more victims. Tobias would kill them and then return to Reid. He would not stop. Tobias was a mission-based killer and would never stop until his mission was finished. He took Reid for a reason. She could only hope that Reid wasn't part of his mission.

The more she thought the more JJ's FBI train of thought kicked in. Reid had been missing for a day now. All the statistics in the world pointed to the outcome of this turning bad. Spencer himself would have likely inserted a number to back up that fact. If they didn't find him tomorrow, he was going to die. More tears flowed down her face at the thought. She couldn't do that. Her hand flew up to her neck, but she realized that her necklace she usually wore was missing. JJ panicked before remembering she had left it at home the morning before they had gone to the bar. The night the FBI director had called her about this case. The night she should have just said no.

JJ dug her nails into her neck. He couldn't die. She wouldn't let him. But what if he did? It would be her fault. She didn't know if she could live with herself if that happened. Everyone would blame her even more than they already did. She wouldn't be able to do this job anymore. She would never even be able to look another member of her team in the eye.

She heard several cars start from a distance. Tobias must have chosen his next victim. JJ knew she should go back inside. It was starting to get colder outside and she could be doing work to find Reid. She took a few more minutes to collect herself and put her thoughts back in order before slowly walking back. She kept her head down and tried to go straight upstairs. She noticed that Hotch and Gideon were gone now and Morgan still hadn't come back. JJ tried to keep herself together as she climbed the stairs to go to the room she had slept in for the past two nights. She didn't think anyone would be there but Emily popped out of the bathroom as soon as she sat down on the couch.

Prentiss gave her a pitying look, "Jayje, look at me, this isn't-"

"Don't," JJ cut her off. Emily tried to reason with her but she didn't care. She turned and stared out the window into the night until Emily went away. JJ closed her eyes and tried to empty her thoughts. Thinking of the what-ifs wouldn't help her now. She had no idea how long she had been sitting at the window when a door opening downstairs brought her out of her reverie. JJ realized that if she was going to be of any help tonight, she needed some coffee.

Going down to the kitchen she grabbed a cup and ran into Derek. He glanced over at her saying, "I thought you were gonna try and get some rest."

JJ shrugged, "Everyone else is working, I should be too."

Morgan looked directly at her, "We can handle it." His words were like a knife digging into her heart.

She stared back as he went about getting his coffee ready. She finally chose to ignore his comment, "The funny thing is, I've been thinking…the one thing we need to crack this case is…well…Reid." She tried to laugh.

"Yeah," Morgan blew her off as he went to join Garcia in the computer room.

That just pissed JJ off. Why was everyone avoiding her? "You think Reid and I should have stayed together in the barn, don't you?"

Derek turned around and pointed to the staircase, "JJ, go get some rest."

JJ didn't move, "I can tell that's what you're thinking, so…"

"I just want to get Reid home safe." Morgan turned to leave.

Like she didn't want Reid here? Like she didn't want him standing right next to her? "But, If I had his back, like I was supposed to, he'd be here now." She wanted him to blame her. Say it out loud.

"JJ, what do you want from me?"

JJ laughed, "I just want someone to tell me the truth!"

"The truth is, one of you is here and one of you isn't. You gotta figure the rest out for yourself." Morgan turned his back on her and left the room.

JJ glared at his receding figure before staring down into her coffee. She chugged the remaining fluid and threw the cup in the direction of the garbage. It bounced off the rim and hit the ground, which made her even angrier. She wanted to storm after Morgan and yell and scream that it wasn't her fault, that it was his idea to split up. She had gotten attacked by three dogs for God's sake and still had the bandage to prove it! Why was it all her fault? She was a media liaison, not a profiler. How was she supposed to know that Tobias was going to take Reid? JJ took a few deep breaths. The murders were probably up on the website already. Maybe watching those would give her a hint to where Reid was.

She walked into the room where Garcia was, expecting to find Morgan as well but he was nowhere to be found. JJ honestly didn't feel bad about that. "Find anything on Reid?" She asked Penelope.

Garcia shook her head but inclined her head towards the flashing screens, "He just posted the latest murder online. It's had over seventeen thousand hits in the first twenty minutes."

"I wanna see it."

"No you don't."

"Don't tell me what I want and don't want," JJ shot back. Garcia looked up at her with a hurt look on her face and JJ felt sorry for snapping at her. She did need to watch this, but Garcia didn't know why. "If I can't watch this, I have no business being in the field."

Garcia continued to stare at her, "Jayje, it's not a competition!"

JJ ignored her, "I need to see it."

Sighing, Garcia said, "If you stop being affected by things, you…lose parts of yourself, you know?"

She stood up a little straighter, "Show me."

Garcia typed a few keystrokes into the computer before getting up and touching JJ's hand, "I won't watch it with you." She walked out of the room.

JJ sat down at the desk as Tobias' voice became audible. He was reading a Bible passage to start off with, just like the other video. After the verse was done, the screen switched to a living room. A woman sat seated on a couch while a man was seen in the background getting glasses of wine. Another man in dark clothing wearing a hood cuts in front of the camera and grabs the phone. She can't see anything else at this point until the man she knows is Tobias puts the phone down. He then grabs the woman as the man comes back in the room. Tobias makes a violent motion and shoves the woman down on the couch before moving onto the man. JJ turned away and breathed in a deep breath. This was sick. She hadn't watched the entire thing, though, but she was glad she had stopped.

She held out her hands and found that they were shaking pretty bad. Her left forearm was still wrapped in a bandage, a reminder of why she had just watched that video. JJ got up and headed out to the dining room and found Morgan and Prentiss, "Where's Gideon?"

Morgan pointed up, "He's upstairs, why? What's going on?"

JJ looked down at the floor, "Hankel just posted the latest murder."

At her words Morgan rushed upstairs to find Gideon while Emily went to find Garcia. JJ sat down at the table and put her head in her hands. She had just witnessed a couple being slaughtered like animals and she had done it voluntarily. Nothing in it showed any glimpse of where Reid was. What if they never found out? She heard Garcia shriek from the computer room and got up to see what was going on.

She entered the room and saw Gideon hunched over Garcia, holding onto her shoulders tightly. They were both staring at the monitors which showed the room where Reid was being kept. JJ's heart stopped. Reid was lying on the floor next to the chair he had been tied to. It didn't look like he was breathing. "No, no, NO!" JJ yelled as she rushed over to the computers. She watched as Tobias walked out of the room. "He's not breathing! We have to do something!" She made to run outside, to where she didn't know, but she ran into Hotch. "We have to find him! We have to!" She pointed at the screen.

Hotch followed her hand and rushed over to the screen. He was silent. Gideon started pacing and then left the room. JJ came unglued, "We can't just leave him there! He'll die! Why are we just standing here? We need to do something!"

"There's nothing we can do, JJ. There's no way to trace Hankel." Hotch said in a monotone voice.

"Well, we can't just-"

Garcia let out a cry and JJ whirled back to the computers. Tobias was back, only this time he was trying to resuscitate Reid. Gideon and Morgan came back into the room with Emily and they all surrounded the computers.

After a few seconds, Reid started coughing and breathed again. JJ let out a breath herself, not realizing that she had been holding it. She covered her mouth with her hand and watched, unsure of what Tobias was going to do next.

"Wait, wait a second! When was the video of the last murder posted?" Emily frantically asked.

"9:23," Garcia answered.

"And what was the time of death?"

Hotch answered this time, "The 911 call came at 9:04 and the murder must have been moments later."

JJ looked up at him, "That's only a 19 minute difference."

Morgan stared at the screen, "How long would it take to post the MPEG?"

Garcia looked back at him, "2/3 minutes."

"Well let's call it two. You give him a maximum 60 miles an hour in a residential area, that means that Hankel has to be within a 17 mile radius of the crime scene."

"Garcia can we see it on a map," Hotch leaned in to see the screens better. Garcia pulled up a map and circled an area of the township.

"Have that area locked down like it's martial law," Gideon demanded.

JJ jumped up and hurried to call the police, but before she could leave, Garcia directed their attention back to Reid.

Tobias was staring at Reid, who was still on the ground, "You came back to life."

Reid whispered something but JJ couldn't hear it. Tobias continued, "That could mean one of two reasons."

"I was given CPR," Reid wheezed.

"There are no accidents. How many members are on your team?"

"Seven."

"The seven angels who play the seven trumpets prepare themselves to sound. The first sound followed hail and fire with blood and they were thrown to earth."

"He thinks it's Revelations. The seven archangels also known as the seven angels of death," Hotch stated.

Tobias made Reid sit up in the chair again. JJ could see the huge patch of blood on his head and cringed. She sat back down and held her stomach with her left hand, while holding her head with the other.

"Tell me who you serve," Tobias demanded.

"I serve you," Reid answered, clearly in pain.

"Then choose one to die."

"What?"

"Your team members, choose one to die."

JJ's body went numb and she closed her eyes. He was going to choose her. It was only normal, after all. She was the reason he was in this situation in the first place. She would die if it meant saving Reid. He was young and vulnerable and she would be the one to save him. It was only fair. She glanced back at the screen and drew in a breath. Tobias had a gun pointed to Reid's head.

"Choose and prove that you'll do God's will."

"No."

The gun clicked once and JJ shuddered. She didn't want to watch but she couldn't look away.

"Choose."

"I won't do it."

The gun clicked again and Garcia fidgeted next to her. JJ wanted so much to reach out to someone for comfort but she couldn't. This was all her fault. Reid should just tell Tobias to kill her already.

"Life is a choice."

"No."

The gun clicked for a third time.

"Choose."

There was a pause and JJ held her breath. He was going to say her name. Jennifer Jareau would be the next victim of Tobias Hankel.

Reid stuttered, "I choose…Aaron Hotchner."

JJ was stunned. Everyone else turned to look at Hotch but he continued to watch the screen, stone-faced.

"He's a classic narcissist. He thinks he's better than everyone else on the team. Genesis 23:4, Let him not deceive himself in trust, in emptiness, vanity, falseness, futility, for thee shall be his recompense."

Hotch turned and left the room. JJ continued to watch as Tobias moved the gun from Reid's face and shot once. The blast of sound made her jump. Then the feed went blank.

JJ was shaking as she followed Gideon and Morgan to the other room. Hotch was standing, holding a Bible and pacing, "I'm not a narcissist."

"Come on, look, you can't take-" Gideon started.

"Don't, stop, stop! Alright, everybody right now, what's my worst quality?" Hotch looked around the room. No one answered. "Alright, I'll start. I have no sense of humor."

JJ stared at him, "You're a bully."

"I'm a bully," Hotch repeated.

Morgan shrugged, "You can be a drill sergeant sometimes."

"Right."

"You don't trust women as much as men," Emily added.

"Ok, good, I'm all of these things, but none of you said that I put myself above the team because I don't, ever. Reid and I argued about the definition of classic narcissism and he knew that I would remember that. He also quoted Genesis chapter 23, verse 4, read it." He handed the Bible off to JJ.

JJ read, "I am a stranger and a sojourner with you: give me a possession of a burying place with you, that I may bury my dead out of my sight." That's not what she had just heard come out of Reid's mouth.

Gideon smiled as Hotch stated, "He wouldn't get it wrong unless it was on purpose."

"He's in a cemetery," Morgan put two and two together as Hotch nodded.

They all rushed back into the computer room as Garcia frantically did a search for cemeteries in the 17 mile radius. "I don't see a cemetery," Emily said as she peered at the screen.

"The first time we saw Reid," Gideon leaned against the desk.

Garcia played back one of the first lines that they had heard Reid say, "I won't choose who gets slaughtered and have you leave their remains behind like a poacher." Garcia stopped the video.

"Check to see of any signs of poaching in the last couple of days," Hotch asked.

Garcia started typing, "Ok…uhmm…a farmer reported two sheep being slaughtered on his property."

"Where we talking?" Morgan questioned.

Garcia zoomed in on a section of the map. There was a name in small font that said _Marshall Parish_…churches have cemeteries…"Whoah, what's that patch of green there?" JJ asked.

Hotch leaned in to look closer, "Marshall Parish. I think it's an old plantation."

"Wait, Tobias wrote in his journals about staying clean and keeping away from Marshall," Emily added.

Something pinged on the computer as Garcia said, "There's a cemetery on the grounds."

JJ turned to run out the door as the rest of the team followed her. She jumped in the back of an SUV as Morgan yanked the driver's door open and Hotch got in the passenger seat. Emily ran in behind her and Morgan floored it as they raced off to save their co-worker and most importantly, their friend.


	6. Chapter 6

**Sorry this took so long. Don't own CM! Enjoy.**

As soon as the black SUV stopped, JJ was out the door and running. Before she got far, someone grabbed her by her bullet-proof vest, stopping her in her tracks. She turned around, ready to chew out whoever had stopped her, when she came face to face with Hotch. He looked stern, "Wait." He then gathered up the surrounding police officers and the rest of the team and tried to come up with a plan. They decided to storm the cemetery because they were positive that there was only one dangerous person, and because Reid might need medical attention.

Hotch and Gideon led the way, with JJ, Morgan and Emily right behind, followed by a few police officers. They arrived at a small shack and surrounded the door, noticing that a light was on inside. All was silent as they waited, listening for sound. Before they heard anything, Gideon yelled, "GO!"

Hotch whipped open the door and Morgan jumped through, "FBI!" Hotch followed behind him and they both cleared the area. Emily had followed Hotch through the door and JJ was right behind her. A strong smell of rotting flesh hit her nostrils as she heard both Morgan and Hotch yell that the shack was clear.

"What's that smell?" Emily asked.

JJ pointed to a mass of raw meat that was piled on an oven-type object. Emily grimaced. Hotch took a quick glance around and then motioned to go outside, "Let's spread out, they have to be on foot. Go!"

Running to the nearest door, JJ took her torch out and started canvassing the area. She started a little to the right of where Hotch took off from and moved her flashlight over one headstone after the next. JJ was getting antsy and looked around to see if anyone had found anything. No luck so far.

A gunshot rang out through the woods and JJ immediately started running towards the sound. They were too late. JJ was sure that she was about to come across Reid's body. Lifeless. Or even worse, so close to death so that nothing they did would matter.

Suddenly, she heard Morgan shout out to Reid and arrived at the scene moments after Hotch and Emily. Reid was sitting on the ground next to a freshly dug grave and a freshly shot unsub.

Hotch was at Reid's side in seconds and helped him up. Reid had a ghost of a smile on his face as he gripped Hotch's shoulders. "I knew you'd understand." He sounded like he was fighting back tears.

JJ was right behind Hotch, ready to be of help. Reid and Hotch let go of each other and Hotch stepped back enough to let JJ see Reid. On closer inspection, he really did look like shit, but that they could fix. She finally could breathe a sigh of relief. It felt like she had been holding her breath the entire time Reid was missing.

Reid was a little unstable on his feet so JJ caught him before he could fall, wrapping her arms around him and burying her face in his shoulder, closing her eyes. They rocked back and forth and bit because of Reid's balance, but eventually straightened up.

"I am so sorry," She said, fighting back tears. JJ hugged him even tighter. He was back, she didn't know in what condition, but Reid was back. Spence was back.

Reid very softly rubbed her back, "Its ok. It's not your fault." Then, he let her go to take Gideon's hand.

JJ swiftly turned around, wiping the tears in her eyes. Morgan was staring at her with a pitying look on his face. She just looked down at the ground and tramped back to where the SUVs were parked. Gideon would take care of Reid for now.

On the way back she had to pass Emily, who had the same look on her face as Morgan did. By now, Emily knew better than to reach out for her, so she just let her pass. JJ was still wiping her face on her sleeve when she got to the vehicles. An ambulance was just pulling up to the driveway. Hotch was discussing something with the Sheriff, but turned to her when she walked up.

"Someone should ride with Reid to the hospital. I think it should be you." JJ nodded and mouthed a 'Thank you' before heading off to talk to the EMT. Hotch stopped her, "We'll meet you there and good job on this case, JJ. I mean it."

JJ shrugged and climbed into the back of the ambulance and started answering the medics' questions about what had happened. A few minutes later, Reid finally got in with Gideon's help. He laid down on the gurney and one medic hopped out to drive, shutting the doors after him. She sat on a bench next to Reid's head, looking at his arm and the tell-tale signs of drug-usage in spots down his arm. JJ looked away and put her face in her hands.

How was Reid going to forgive her? He had said it wasn't her fault, but would he still hold to that thought after he came down from the shock?

A hand reaching for her shoulder brought her out of her thoughts. She looked down at Reid and saw that he was looking up at her. "Talk to me,"

JJ pursed her lips together and sighed as the medic put in an IV to flush out his system. She took Reid's hand and tried to smile, "I missed you. We all did."

Reid squeezed her hand, "I knew you guys would figure out where I was. We're the best team there is, right?"

"Supposedly," JJ said, turning towards the front again.

"Hey, Jayje," Reid grabbed her, stopping her from turning away from him. "It was my idea to split up. I remember that after all I've been through, don't you? I went against basic training. It was my fault. Don't beat yourself up over this."

A lone tear streaked down her face and landed on Reid's hand that was holding on to her knee. "It was awful…watching you from that house…seeing him torture you…and…not be able to do anything for you…"

"You were doing something. You found me."

JJ scoffed, "After you almost died."

"Well, almost only counts in horseshoes, so all's fine." Reid squeezed her knee before the medic had to examine his arm.

Coming to a jerky stop, the back doors opened and two doctors stood on the other side. This time, they wouldn't let Reid walk, so they wheeled him out and into the hospital. JJ didn't know whether to follow the gurney or wait for the team, since they weren't there yet. A nurse made her decision for her when she asked JJ to fill out some paperwork for Reid. She was his emergency contact after all, along with several other members of the team. After filling out those forms, she waited in a little room down the hall from where doctors took Reid. JJ hated waiting. Her heels tapped on the ground every few seconds and she glanced at her watch almost every minute. Finally, after about 15 minutes, a doctor came out of a room about halfway down the hall.

"Spencer Reid?" He asked her.

"How is he?"

The doctor looked at his clipboard, "He's still in shock, for the most part. We're flushing out his system right now and trying to pump him back up with nutrients. He's also dehydrated and suffering from withdrawals from the drug that was used on him. There is minor bruising and his lungs will be a little sore for a while but, other than that, he's fine."

JJ nodded, "When can I see him?"

"He's resting right now, so, as long as you're quiet…"

She darted to Reid's room and slipped through the door as quietly as she could. Reid looked peaceful on the bed. The worry lines gone on his forehead and the exhausted expression nowhere to be seen. JJ pulled up a chair and sat on the opposite side of the bed from the door. She finally relaxed and leaned up on the bed, her chin resting on her hands, just watching Reid sleep. He had gone through so much in so little time…She didn't think he would ever be the same.

JJ had no idea how much time had passed before a noise at the door made her jump. Hotch had cracked open the door to peek in and she could see Morgan and Emily right behind him. JJ nodded and smiled as a signal for them to come in.

Hotch pulled up a chair opposite her and sat down with Morgan standing right behind her. Gideon and Garcia filed in after them. Emily crossed the room and stood next to JJ, put her arm on her shoulder and squeezed in reassurance. JJ leaned on her for support and closed her eyes. She suddenly realized how exhausted she was.

Morgan started talking quietly, "We just talked to the nurse. " JJ sat up and sighed.

Hotch stared at her, "He's going to be OK, JJ."

She shrugged and looked down at the sleeping form lying between them, "Maybe physically…"

Garcia interrupted her, "And we'll help him in the other areas. He'll bounce back from this. We all will, eventually."

Looking down at Reid, JJ really wanted to believe that, but she just couldn't. Reid is so young and vulnerable…the years that she'd devoted to this type of job gave her knowledge that she'd rather not have right now. JJ knew how people changed after traumatic events.

Gideon moved over towards the bed, "JJ, you should go back and get some sleep. Go to the hotel. One of us can stay with him." He nodded his head towards the rest of the team.

"No. I want to be here when he wakes back up."

Gideon went to reply but one look from Hotch silenced him. The team sat in silence for a few minutes contemplating what had gone on the past few days. Hotch broke the silence, "The nurse said he would be ready to fly in a day or two. Everyone ok with waiting until then?" Everyone looked around at each other.

"Good with me. Anyone want coffee?" Morgan asked.

Emily nodded and turned to go before turning back, "JJ?"

She hesitated but Hotch answered for her, "Go, JJ. We'll come get you if he wakes up."

Nodding she got up and left the room with Garcia behind her, leaving Gideon and Hotch to watch Reid. The four of them walked down the hallway towards the waiting room that had a coffee machine. Morgan started the pot while JJ and Emily sat down next to each other and Garcia got mugs down from a cabinet. JJ slumped in the chair and rubbed her eyes.

Morgan sat down beside her and put an arm around her shoulder, "Hey, chin up. How about after genius boy wakes up, we go back to the hotel. You need some sleep. We all do actually."

JJ looked up at him, "As long as someone stays here with him…I don't want him to be alone…" She trailed off, not knowing if the others would think her overprotectiveness was uncalled for.

Emily squeezed her knee, "I'll stay if no one else does, but I don't think we'll have that problem."

JJ nodded and sighed, "Do you think he'll be the same?"

"Like I said, we'll help him. We're a family. Families lean on each other for support." Garcia flashed her a reassuring smile. That was so Penelope. Always seeing the bright side.

The coffee machine dinged and Morgan got up to pour it out. "Em, Jay, baby girl? Sugar?" The three of them nodded and he started stirring. JJ looked down the hallway of hospital rooms just in time to see Hotch step out and look down at them. He caught her eye and motioned for her to come over.

JJ jumped up and hurriedly walked to the door, "What's wrong?"

Hotch put a hand on her shoulder, "Nothing. Relax. He's just waking up." She peered through the little window next to the door and saw Reid start to rub his eyes. Opening the door, she walked through and took up her position next to the bed. Gideon nodded to her and left the room, leaving the two of them alone.

Reid blinked a few times and looked around. He glanced down at his arm, seeing the IV that was attached there. He visibly tensed. "Hey, Spence." JJ said with a smile, trying to distract his attention.

He looked over at her, as if just noticing she was in the room. Relaxing, he brushed the hair out of his face, "How long was I sleeping?"

"Not very long, probably about an hour. How do you feel?"

Reid stretched his arms and legs out, testing his sore body, "Not too bad. Are the others here?"

JJ looked down, "Yeah, they're out in the hallway. I wanted to be the first to see you…I can go get them if you want," She started to rise out of her seat when he grabbed her arm.

"Don't. It's nice just having you right now."

She smiled at him and sat back down, holding his hand by his side. She felt some blisters that were probably caused by him having to dig his own would-be grave. Shuddering, she was glad that he never had to use it.

Reid brought her out of her thoughts, "Do you think I'll recover from this? I mean, statistically trauma patients suffer from…"

She cut him off, "You have us. Remember that. A woman that I greatly admire had to remind me that we are a family. We'll get through this. I'll be here for you, whenever you need it. We all will." She squeezed his hand in reassurance.

Reid grinned a little, "Garcia?" JJ nodded. "How is she holding up?"

JJ shook her head, "We're all worried about you, genius."

He adjusted himself on the bed, "Well, you don't have to worry anymore. I'm fine."

A nurse came in, interrupting their small talk. "Dr. Reid? I have a few things to discuss with you, now that you're awake and on the mend." Her smile was genuine.

JJ squeezed his hand one more time, then let go, "I'll go."

Reid understood, "Go get some rest, for both of us." He cracked a smile. She nodded and headed out the door to her team waiting on the other side.

Morgan handed her a mug of coffee. "Drink up, its decaf. Then we can go hit the hay." She nodded and started to drink, the hot liquid warming her body from the inside out.

Garcia was leaning against Morgan's side. "How is he?"

JJ shrugged, "He seems fine for now."

Gideon peered in the room, "He's a strong kid." Everyone agreed.

The nurse popped out of the room, "He should be good to go tomorrow. There will be some medication he'll need to take, mostly for pain, but that shouldn't be a big deal."

Hotch nodded and thanked her. "Jason and I can stay for the rest of the night. You guys can go get some sleep." The two of them entered the hospital room again as the other four walked to the exit.

Before going to the hotel, they decided to go back to the Hankel residence and collect their things. JJ, Emily, and Garcia headed upstairs to grab their go-bags while Morgan tidied up the first floor. He gathered up all of Penelope's computer gear and was loading it into the SUV. They were done within ten minutes.

JJ put her go-bag in the passenger seat of the SUV and then went to go back inside the house. She looked around on the dark porch and into the night, remembering the first night she had stayed here. Cold, bleeding, and alone. A shiver went down her spine as she hurried back up the stairs to join the others. In her haste, she didn't see Emily open the door and come out, almost causing a collision.

"Hey, are you ok?"

JJ nodded, "Yeah I was just thinking about some things."

Emily guided her back down the steps and to the car, "Well, they're almost ready to leave, let's go. Then we never have to look at this place again."

Morgan and Garcia shortly followed them to the SUV and then they were off to the motel for the first time all week. Derek checked them in and they went to find their rooms. The team had two joined rooms with two beds in each. Morgan and Garcia took one while Emily and JJ took the other. The doors were left open in between so they could talk while they were getting ready for bed.

JJ changed her clothes and collapsed on the bed, her exhaustion finally taking over.

* * *

**I got bored with this story so that's why it took forever and a day to do. I'm thinking about doing another JJ story though. Any suggestions about which episodes?**


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